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Friday, April 9, 2010

It wouldn’t be school holidays without a trip to the movies, and when in Brisbane, I like to take the kids to the Eldorado8 Cinemas at Indooroopilly.

A trip to the Eldorado is not only cheaper than the huge BCC and Hoyts multiplexes, but it’s like stepping back in time.

I always tell the kids the Eldorado experience is a bit like going to the movies when I was a girl.

Brisbane’s largest independently-owned cinema stands on a site that was once a blacksmith shop (apparently the odd horseshoe still turns up occasionally), and is an icon for generations of Brisbane movie-lovers.

As a single Mum, I love that there is free parking right underneath the complex, and that the munchies from the candy bar are reasonably priced. That means I don’t mind splashing out on a treat for the kids rather than smuggling in our own supplies, which everyone knows, is nowhere near as much fun!

(Oh come on, loads of people do it – don’t they?) In any case, customers are allowed to take in snacks and drinks at this cinema, as long as they are the same as the goodies sold inside.

The Eldorado kids’ combo deal includes popcorn, frozen slushie, and a bag of mixed lollies for $6, and since movie tickets are already cheaper than the bigger complexes, it’s really good value for money.

The dinky old-fashioned seats are a bit small – I nearly sat on Mr 9’s slushie, much to his horror – but are perfectly sized for young humans, and a reminder to parents to abstain from the candy bar.

This time around, the kids chose The Spy Next Door. Starring the always-likeable Jackie Chan, the flick is pretty crap by adult standards – the acting is wooden, Chan is an international-spy-turned-hopeless-babysitter, and ‘the Russians’ are the bad guys – but the slapstick comedy got huge laughs from all the kids in the audience. It’s a pleasant enough way to spend a couple of hours in air-conditioned comfort – Autumn weather has yet to hit Brisbane!

Whose Bronnie?

I'm a journalist, travel writer, feature writer, author, blogger, and twitterer. Mum of two awesome kids, one extremely spolt cat, and several unreasonably demanding guinea pigs. Temporary pamperer of a mini-managerie of furry creatures whose owners are living overseas. I'm Queensland born and bred, and love rediscovering it through the eyes of my children.